A Winter Night
by Tabby Kitten
Summary: A cute moment between Harry, Ginny and their firstborn.


The Potter household was unusually quiet tonight, but Harry found himself ok with that. It was that weird gap of time between Christmas and new year's when no one really knew what day it was or what to do with themselves. Harry and Ginny were reading by the fireplace and the kids were upstairs asleep.

Harry kept an ear out for James as he read his book. The poor kid had come down with the flu the day after Christmas and had been quarantined to his room in hopes of not getting anyone else sick. They'd put all the kids to bed two hours ago and told James to call them if he needed anything, but so far it had been quiet. Perhaps James would sleep the whole night.

Harry smiled to himself and reached for his wife's hand. She grabbed his and gave it a gentle squeeze. Harry was about to squeeze back when they both heard the unmistakeable sound of vomiting from upstairs.

Ginny put her book down. "Should we—"

"I'll go check on him." Said Harry. "You just sit here and read." He went upstairs to James' room and found him bent over the basin by his bed. "Are you ok?"

"Better now that that's out of me. I think that's the toast Mum gave me this afternoon."

Harry took the basin from James and vanished its contents. "Do you need anything? Do you want some water?"

"Some water would be great." James flopped back on his pillows.

Harry went down to the kitchen to fill up a glass of water, stopping to check on Al and Lilly as he made his way back up. Al rolled over when Harry opened the door but didn't wake up. Lilly was nearly invisible in a pile of stuffed animals and blankets, but as far as Harry could tell she seemed to sleeping soundly too. He went back into James' room and handed him the water. James drained the glass in two gulps.

"Better?"

"Yeah. Had to wash out the vomit taste. It's like doxy eggs."

Harry sat down on the bed. "What would you know about how doxy eggs taste?"

"Err . . . nothing."

"Good." Harry reached up and felt his son's forehead. "You're still a little feverish. Do you want some more water?"

James shook his head and leaned back against his father. "I'm ok."

Harry squeezed onto James' bed a little more, pulling James over so that he was almost on his lap. He smiled, knowing James would never allow this if he were healthy. Lilly was the only one of Harry's children who still wanted to sit on his lap.

"Dad? Were you ever, like, scared when you had to duel death eaters?"

Harry hadn't been expecting this question, especially not at eleven pm from a slightly delirious James. "I was, often. But I tried not to show it. A lot of times I just kept moving forward in spite of my fear because I knew I had an end goal. Does that answer your question?"

"I guess. Some nasty third year said you were nothing more than Dumbledore's pawn during the war, so I told him he could fight me. He wants to duel me after the holidays. He's huge, Dad."

Harry sighed. "James, another important thing I've learned over the years is to pick your battles. Some things just aren't worth the trouble. Let's face it, I probably was Dumbledore's pawn on some level during the war. That's probably why we're all still here. It sounds like this third year is bigger than you and knows more magic. Now, I can't make your decisions for you but I think it would be wise not to duel him."

"Should I use expeliarmus or set him on fire?' James mumbled sleepily.

Harry sighed again, sincerely hoping that James wasn't magically skilled enough to set another student on fire yet. He'd be in even worse trouble than the time he and Fred mailed a box of toilet seats home.

"How about you don't do either, Jamie? This loyalty to the family is admirable but it's going to land you in serious trouble at some point."

James didn't answer. A few seconds later he began to snore. Harry smiled. James looked so innocent when he was asleep, you could almost forget about the incident with the toilet seats or the threats to set other students on fire. He reached down and brushed a sweaty lock of hair off James' forehead. This was nice, sitting here with a little moonlight trickling through the window and James' heavy warm body on top of him.

. . . . .

When Harry didn't return for half an hour after going up to check on James, Ginny set down her book and decided to see what he was doing. She figured Harry might've spaced out while checking on one of the kids. He tended to do that sometimes. Ginny cracked the door open to James' room, half expecting to find Harry tied up in some nasty prank, but the scene before her was so adorable she had to stifle a little gasp.

James was sprawled across Harry's lap, his long legs dangling over the bed almost touching the floor. His mouth was slightly open and he clutched Harry's shirt with one hand, just like he'd done when he was little. Harry looked like he was about to nod off too, but he perked up when Ginny came in.

"How is he?" Ginny whispered as she crossed the room.

"He's doing all right." Harry whispered back. "He was leaning against me and then he fell asleep."

"Isn't he sweet?" Said Ginny.

"Don't let him hear you say that."

They both stopped talking as James shifted positions in his sleep. "My name's James." he mumbled. "Not just one Jame. I'm multiple James."

Ginny caught her husband's eye and they both stifled a laugh. "I think you might be stuck here for a while, Harry."

"I know. I don't want to disturb him. I'll have to stay here all night. Oh man, that's how I get the flu. Then you get it, then the other two get it."

"What makes you think I'm letting you back in our bed once you're contagious?" Said Ginny.

"Come on Gin, I'm your one true love. I'm really divine, you wish you were mine, remember?"

"Will you ever stop quoting that stupid poem? I was eleven!" Ginny lifted her wand and summoned an extra pillow from the hall closet. "I think you're sitting on all of James' pillows. Here, use this one and get comfortable."

"Thanks, Gin. I love you."

"Love you too."


End file.
